The election was filled with many surprises. Maybe all of your predictions came true, but several of mine certainly did not.

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I thought the race between Dave Higgins and Erik Wells for Senate in the 8th district was going to be close, but Erik pulled off a stunning victory. Higgins outspent Wells, but Wells, a former television anchor, proved that name recognition is worth its weight in gold.

Now the battle for Kanawha County is between Erik Wells and republican Mark Plants. Because Wells is a rabid left-winger (we’re talking a Hillary Clinton, Cindy Sheehan, no holds barred liberal) Plants’ chances are better against him than the conservative-leaning Higgins. But do not be fooled. Wells will not have the blowout against Plants like he had with Higgins. Republicans will be voting too and many of the conservative democratic voters do not like the nanny government Wells aspires to bring. Besides, as a former football star and hometown hero, Plants has his own name recognition.

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In the 9th Senatorial district (Raleigh, Wyoming) Democrats cast an interesting vote for gambling when they gave the nod to Mark Green, a greyhound breeder and gambling lobbyist. His opponents were Delegate Sally Susman and former senator Bill Wooten.

This was another surprise to me. I did not think the dark horse (no pun intended) had a chance against “Turnpike Sally” and a former office holder. Maybe democrats are tired of the “same ol’ same ol’.”

Regardless of the opponent, republican Senator Russ Weeks is coming back to Charleston. The senator has been very attentive to the needs of his constituents and has fought for them during his tenure. He has earned a trust that they will certainly reciprocate at the polls.

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Speaking of ditching the old, House Majority Leader Rick Staton (District 22) is out of a job and so his Speaker Pro Temp John Pino (District 29). While each man had individual problems in their races, I think this is a sign that incumbents who support the destructive trends of our state need to be worried. Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin barely beat Greg “Hootie” Smith by 153 votes in Mingo County (District 6).

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Democrat incumbent Delegate Linda Hrutkay (District 19) also got the boot. As one of the top liberals in the House all I have to say is goodbye and good riddance. She will not be missed.

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Mike Callaghan beat Mark Hunt and Richie Robb for the honor of being stomped by Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito. While Callaghan will give her the most trouble, I do not think Capito has anything to worry about.

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Hiram Lewis failed to carry his home county, or any county for that matter, against John Raese for U.S. Senate. The battle was not even close as republicans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief.

For all of you future candidates out there taking notes, being unscrupulous negates a $1,000,000 dollar war chest.

Senator Byrd will have a real fight with Raese, but I think his biggest battle is his health. The democratic leadership in this state is hoping Byrd will hang on until after the election. That way, if the Lord retires him in office, a democrat can be nominated in his place and allowed time to do enough senatorial things while in office to win reelection. I suspect that Manchin wants Byrd’s job. Although I cannot imagine his ego allowing him any position other than Emperor of the Entire Universe (EEU).

Now that Hiram has lost, he needs to donate all his campaign money to the Republican Party who sorely needs it. Seeing as we got into this enormous debt while he was Finance Director for the party, I would say it is the least he could do.

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Eric Anderson moved on in the democratic primary for House of Delegates in the 16th district. Eric, a young man in his mid-20s, was an intern for the Senate President and Majority Leader during the 2006 legislative session. It was while serving there that he decided to run.

I got to know Eric during his stint at the capitol. He is well liked and friendly to all and we had a good relationship. One day I lightheartedly told him I would support his race if he answered two questions for me.

“Do you agree with Governor Manchin’s assessment that West Virginia is in 50th place,” I asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” he replied.

So far so good.

“And who has been in control of this state,” I continued, “for the last 70 years?”

A high-ranking democrat was within earshot and blurted out, “Don’t answer that!” The democrat then tried to argue the point with me and I never got an answer from Eric.

I wish Eric the best in the world. While my support is naturally for the republicans, I do hope Eric finishes first between his democratic cohorts.

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And finally, I lost my race for Republican State Executive Committee Member. I really enjoyed putting my name on the ballot. As they say, fools names and fools faces are always seen in public places.

I appreciated the support of my friends, family, and readers of this website. Many people came to me to not only say they were voting for me, but that they were asking their friends to do the same. I even had a soldier in Iraq tell me he was calling his family in Putnam County to tell them to vote for me. The whole experience was enjoyable and very humbling. Thank you.

Both of my opponents were incumbents and I did no campaigning, so I am very proud of my 822 votes.

Oh, and do not feel too bad for me. I was down for a little while but then I ate a pint of ice cream and I am quite recovered.